THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 16, 1995 TAG: 9510130025
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
I applaud staff writer Debra Gordon's recent articles dealing with the very important subject of long-term health care for senior citizens.
My first introduction to Ms. Gordon's expertise was in the Aug. 10, 1994, issue of The Virginian-Pilot, where she wrote of the plight of Nora Tillet, who lost all of her life savings to nursing-home expenses.
In my profession as a long-term-care-insurance specialist, I often see senior citizens who want a policy but are talked out of it by their children. The children say, ``Mom, I'll take care of you . . . you don't need a policy.'' This results in catastrophic consequences when Mom's health deteriorates to the point at which professional health care is imperative and unavoidable.
By this time, it is too late to get a policy. Mom's assets are quickly depleted, leaving her to depend on Medicaid. Ms. Gordon points our, ``We don't know what the Medicaid benefits are going to be in 10, 15 or 20 years from now.''
Since at least 40 percent of the nation's workers will find themselves caring for an aging parent within the next 20 years, long-term-care insurance, whether in the form of a nursing-home policy or home-care policy, becomes one of the most important investments available to a family today.
BILL PRATT
Norfolk, Sept. 17, 1995 by CNB